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Most nonprofits are good at issuing apologies, but terrible at actually changing. There's a difference between saying "I'm sorry" and doing the work of repair, and that gap is exactly where trust goes to die. In this episode, we get into what accountability actually means, why so few organizations do it well, and what it looks like when it's done right.

On this week's episode of The Small Nonprofit Podcast, Maria sits down with Chris Talbot (they/them), Communications Lead for Community-Centric Fundraising, and a queer, transmasc, non-binary, mixed race, autistic advocate who has spent years working to make spaces genuinely safe for marginalized people. Nonprofit leaders listening to this episode will walk away with a concrete framework for taking accountability, a clearer picture of why changed behavior, and not apologies, is the actual measure of accountability, and a harder look at the double standard of who gets held to account in our sector.

• Shahem Mclaurin's page, which has links to their socials, podcast, and work: https://www.5hahem.com/
• Christabel Mintah-Galloway's page, which has links to her relational toolkit, relational skills workbook, workshop, and socials: https://www.christabelmintahgalloway.com/
• Book: Turn this world inside out: The emergence of nurturance culture: https://bookshop.org/p/books/turn-this-world-inside-out-the-emergence-of-nurturance-culture-nora-samaran/012f25ca4db67954
• Chris's website: https://www.mxchristalbot.com/
• Twitter: https://x.com/mxchristalbot
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mxchristalbot/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mxchristalbot/
• Them's Wild podcast: https://dashboard.rss.com/podcasts/themswild/

If this episode was useful, grab the 30-Day Board Fundraising Challenge at gofurthertogether.ca/boardchallenge — it's free and it gives your board actual structure.

Book a Discovery Call with Further Together if you need help raising money in a way aligned with your values.

Check out the What The Fundraising podcast here.

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You've been told that keeping donors happy is how you protect your revenue. What if that's actually the thing bleeding your organization dry? In this episode, Maria Rio makes the case that donor-centric fundraising isn't just a values problem, but also financial one. She breaks down exactly how centering donor comfort drives away your most aligned supporters, tanks staff morale, and keeps your organization stuck addressing symptoms instead of causes. Maria introduces the ACT framework, a concrete three-step roadmap that any fundraiser can start using without board approval, a strategic planning retreat, or organizational consensus.

On this week's episode of The Small Nonprofit Podcast, Maria Rio draws on over a decade of fundraising experience, her personal history as a service user, and real results from organizations like The Stop Community Food Centre and Out on Screen to show nonprofit leaders what Community-Centric Fundraising (CCF) actually looks like in practice, and how to start shifting toward it, starting tomorrow. This episode is a re-recording of the keynote Maria gave at ENCC 2026.

Learn more about CCF here: https://communitycentricfundraising.org/

If this episode was useful, grab the 30-Day Board Fundraising Challenge at gofurthertogether.ca/boardchallenge — it's free and it gives your board actual structure.

Book a Discovery Call with Further Together if you need help raising money in a way aligned with your values.

Check out the What The Fundraising podcast here.

Support the show

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Hiring a fundraiser feels like the obvious solution when revenue is tight and the need is growing, but doing it before you're ready can set everyone up to fail, including the person you just hired. Before you draft that job description, there are real systems, mindsets, and infrastructure pieces that need to be in place. And if you don't have them yet, there's a smarter path forward that most small nonprofits haven't considered. This episode breaks down what "ready" actually looks like, what supports might be the bridge your organization needs, and how to stop the costly cycle of hiring, struggling, and starting over.

On this week's episode of The Small Nonprofit Podcast, Maria Rio is joined by Caitlin McBride, a Certified Fundraising Executive with over a decade of experience helping organizations raise money with less chaos.

Check out the What The Fundraising podcast here.

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